Zipp News

Kona preview: Earth, wind and Firecrest

Ironman®, at its heart, is a lone athlete out of the water and on the bike battling heat, exhaustion and rivals for 112 miles over searing lava fields and windy coastline. The effort is monumental, yet energy must be conserved... the run awaits. Zipp® understands that in the crucible of competition that is the Ironman® World Championship aerodynamics, durability and stability matter. Free speed. That’s the Zipp difference.

That’s why Zipp Speed Weaponry has armed more than a dozen of the world’s top triathletes including past winners Chris “Macca” McCormack and Mirinda “Rinny” Carfrae with the world’s most advanced wheels and components for the Oct. 13 showdown in Kailua-Kona, Hawaii. That’s also why each year, a majority of age-group athletes in Kona choose Zipp.

“I just can’t speak enough for what a stable, comfortable wheel choice that is the 808 Firecrest®,” said Linsey Corbin after winning Ironman® 70.3 Hawaii this year. Zipp’s proprietary Firecrest rim shape allows the 82-mm deep 808 Firecrest to be ultra-aero yet stable in stiff crosswinds. Corbin also is relying on Zipp to get into her most efficient aero position by using the new Race Vuka Shift carbon extension.

McCormack, who debuted 808 Firecrest wheels in 2010 with a Kona victory, is hungry for another title after his foray into Olympic-distance racing. Fellow Australian Pete Jacobs is on Zipp wheels and a Zipp cockpit comprised of the VukaBull basebar, VukaClip and VukaExtensions.

Carbon Clinchers are catching on in Kona. The lure of superior aerodynamics paired with low rolling resistance and increased convenience (pick the perfect tire/tube for the day) have Marino Vanhoenacker, Ronnie Schildknecht and Jordan Rapp planning to ride 808 Firecrest Carbon Clinchers. Rapp, a Princeton engineering grad, makes the study of equipment and tactics a fourth discipline of triathlon. He’s spent hundreds of hours on Zipp Carbon Clinchers including a victory in the Ironman U.S. Championship. “It’s nice to have choices,” Rapp concluded, “but I know I’ll be on clinchers for Kona.”